Abstract
Despite organisational change research’s increasing emphasis on the significance of staff’s agential role, there is no study thus far which has examined the extent to which agential positioning theory has been advanced to develop a novel, evidence-informed framework highlighting how jobseekers with autism’s lived experiences can help to fill this theory vs change agent and change recipient gap. This study does so by using a focus group approach to surface 24 jobseekers’ lived experiences to first reconceptualise the role of change agents from an agential positioning to a dual agent-enacting and agent-receiving lens. Second, by using a qualitative case study and participatory research design, this study showed how emergent duality is informed by the study’s thematic results: 1) ‘non-innovative work practices’, 2) ‘normalisation of exclusion’ and 3) ‘feeling unequal’. These results help to push the frontiers of organisational change research beyond the change agent – change recipient role to a more nuanced and transitioning perspectives. Drawing on these results, I developed an inclusive resilience and thriving framework consisting of 4 interlinking aspects: 1) identifying non-innovative work practices; 2) managing exclusion; 3) fostering equal work; 4) building inclusive resilience and thriving community. These contributions help in reconceptualising organisational change in the context of autism research and agential positioning theory. I highlight the theoretical and practical significance of this study to Organisational Change and surface the criticality of wider networks of inclusive resilience to address a wider resilience and thriving communities’ problem. A change agenda for future research is provided.